Cabin Fever
In spite of the blessings of an all-to-brief January thaw, I find myself mildly depressed by the wintery weather we have been having this year. That's not to say I would have been happy with dry, brown grass, bare trees and temperatures hovering just above freezing, but the cold, snow and wind of this winter has been wearing on a lot of us.
It is blowing hard and snowing right now. I guess I am happier that it is snowing than if it weren't, but on the other hand, it is 72F in Cape Coral today. Frankly, I'd rather be there!
And I will be in a couple of weeks. The plan is for me to leave Woodstock on February 1 to attend the hamfest in Niagara Region, then continue on south to my sister's place in Landenberg, PA. I am particularly excited about getting there because by the time I arrive, she should have received two packages for me. The first is a new low-power radio, an Elecraft KX3 and the second is an Alpha Loop portable antenna. With these two new toys, I will be able to turn my holiday in the sunny south into a real ham vacation!
The KX3 is a small, portable all-mode transceiver that can transmit all modes from 0-12 watts out. It is reputed to have one of the best receivers on the market and it has tons of gagdety goodness for me to learn about and play with.
The loop antenna will be a nice addition since KX3 operates on internal batteries and can go anywhere. The loop is very portable, and sets up very quickly for use anywhere from next to the pool to on a mountain top. I think it is a potent combination.
Now, some people are not very sanguine about the prospect of trying to contact people on the radio with low-power, but I have had experience in my former incarnation as a ham using low power (also known as QRP). I built a Heathkit HW-8 and enjoyed taking it out into fields and dales, stringing a wire into a tree and seeing what I could do with it.
Of course, in those days, the HW-8 was a very basic rig. In order to operate out in the bush, I need to bring a power supply (a 12-volt lantern battery), a morse key, and an antenna tuner. With the KX3, all these things are built in to the box. MUCH simpler. Add to that a simple antenna usable on 15-17-20-30-40 metres, and I am in ham heaven!
I have also spent a great deal of time these last couple of weeks operating QRP from home using my Yaesu FT-757D, on which the power is easily dialed down to 5 watts. I have made contacts on both CW and PSK-31 (a digital mode similar but MUCH better than radioteletype), not so much on voice. These contacts have illustrated clearly to me that operating on low power can be both fun and effective. In future I may eschew high power unless absolutely necessary!
Ah! but the two weeks of waiting until I can leave weigh heavily on me! But the time will pass. I just regret that Robbie will be unable to go with me this time since he needs to stay home for work and school. It will be hard on him, and I don't know if he wants to hear about my activities down there or not! I guess I can ask.